Poinsettia plant named ‘Duepremmar’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant named ‘Duepremmar’, characterized by its inflorescences with pink and pale yellow bi-colored flower bracts; uniform and rounded plant habit; freely branching habit; early flowering habit; and excellent post-production longevity.

Botanical denomination: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd.

Cultivar designation: ‘Duepremmar’.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Poinsettia Plant Named ‘Duepremimapri’; Marga Dümmen, disclosed in U.S.Plant patent application Ser. No. 11/174,980; Poinsettia Plant Named‘Duepremmiro’; Marga Dümmen, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent applicationSer. No. 11/174,973; and Poinsettia Plant Named ‘Dueprempica’; MargaDümmen, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,068;

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofPoinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., andhereinafter referred to by the name ‘Duepremmar’.

The new Poinsettia is a product of a planned breeding program conductedby the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the breedingprogram is to create new Poinsettia cultivars with uniform plant habitand attractive flower bract coloration.

The new Poinsettia is a naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of aproprietary selection of Euphoria pulcherrima Willd. identified as codenumber E-16-18, not patented. The cultivar Duepremmar was discovered andselected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within a population ofplants of the parent selection in a controlled environment in Rheinberg,Germany in December, 2002. The selection of this plant was based on itsattractive flower bract coloration.

Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by vegetative terminalcuttings taken at Rheinberg, Germany since December, 2002, has shownthat the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable andreproduced true to type in successive generations of asexualreproduction.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of ‘Duepremmar’. These characteristics incombination distinguish ‘Duepremmar’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Inflorescences with pink and pale yellow bi-colored flower        bracts.    -   2. Uniform and rounded plant habit.    -   3. Freely branching habit.    -   4. Early flowering habit; response time, about seven weeks.    -   5. Excellent post-production longevity.

Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the parentselection in flower bract coloration as plants of the parent selectionhave red-colored flower bracts.

Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the Poinsettiacultivar Duepremimapri, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser.No. 11/174,980; the Poinsettia cultivar Duepremmiro, disclosed in U.S.Plant patent application Ser. No. 11/174,973; and the Poinsettiacultivar Dueprempica, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,068. Plants ofthe new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the cultivarsDuepremimapri, Duepremmiro and Dueprempica in flower bract coloration.

Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the cultivarDuepre, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,644. In side-by-sidecomparisons conducted in Rheinberg, Germany, plants of the newPoinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar Duepre in the followingcharacteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Poinsettia had shorter but wider leaves        than plants of the cultivar Duepre.    -   2. Plants of the new Poinsettia and the cultivar Duepre differed        in flower bract coloration as plants of the cultivar Duepre had        red-colored flower bracts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying colored photograph illustrates the overall appearanceof the new Poinsettia, showing the colors as true as it is reasonablypossible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in thephotograph differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailedbotanical description which accurately describe the colors of the newPoinsettia. The photograph comprises a side perspective view of a singleflowering plant of ‘Duepremmar’ grown in a container.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The new Poinsettia has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The aforementioned photograph, following observations and averagedmeasurements describe plants grown in Rheinberg, Germany during thewinter under commercial practice in a glass-covered greenhouse with dayand night temperatures about 22° C. and light levels about 4,500 lux.Single plants were grown in 13-cm containers and pinched once about fiveweeks after planning. Plants were flowered under natural season shortday/long night conditions. Plants were about 16 weeks from unrootedcuttings when the photograph and the detailed botanical description weretaken.

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where generalterms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

-   Botanical classification: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. cultivar    Duepremmar.-   Parentage: Naturally-occurring whole plant mutation of a proprietary    selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number    E-16-18, not patented.-   Propagation:    -   -   Type cutting.—Vegetative terminal cuttings.        -   Time to initiate roots.—Summer: About 9 days at 22° C.            Winter: About 13 days at 22° C.        -   Time to develop roots.—Summer: About three weeks at 22° C.            Winter: About four weeks at 22° C.        -   Root description.—Fibrous, fleshy; white in color.        -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching, dense.-   Plant description:    -   -   Plant form.—Inverted triangle, top of plant rounded.        -   Growth habit.—Upright and uniform plant habit; moderately            vigorous.        -   Plant height.—About 20 cm.        -   Plant diameter or spread.—About 32 cm.        -   Lateral branch description.—Quantity per plant: Freely            branching habit; about six lateral branches develop after            pinching. Length: About 15.5 cm. Diameter: About 6 mm.            Internode length: About 1.4 cm. Color: 137C.        -   Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate, single. Length:            About 8.9 cm. Width: About 8.9 cm. Shape: Ovate. Apex:            Apiculate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Entire with irregular            lobing. Venation pattern: Pinnate. Texture, upper and lower            surfaces: Glabrous, smooth. Surface: Mostly flat. Color:            Developing foliage, upper surface: 141B. Developing foliage,            lower surface: 138A. Fully expanded foliage, upper surface:            139A. Fully expanded foliage, lower surface: 138A. Venation,            upper surface: 144A. Venation, lower surface: 144B. Petiole:            Length: About 4.7 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm. Texture, upper            and lower surfaces: Glabrous, smooth. Color, upper and lower            surfaces: 144B.-   Inflorescence description:    -   -   Inflorescence type and habit.—Inflorescences are compound            corymbs of cyathia with colored flower bracts subtending the            cyathia. Inflorescences are not fragrant. Inflorescences            persistent.        -   Natural flowering season.—Autumn/winter in Northern            Hemisphere. Flower initiation and development is induced            under long nyctoperiod conditions. Early flowering habit,            response time, about seven weeks after start of long            nyctoperiod conditions.        -   Post-production longevity.—Plants of the new Poinsettia            maintain good substance and bract color for about eight            weeks under interior conditions and about twelve weeks under            greenhouse conditions.        -   Quantity of inflorescences per plant.—One per lateral            branch, about six.        -   Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 20 cm. Height (depth):            About 3 cm.        -   Flower bracts.—Quantity of flower bracts per inflorescence:            About 15. Length, largest bracts: About 8.2 cm. Width,            largest bracts: About 5.3 cm. Shape: Mostly ovate. Apex:            Apiculate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Entire with irregular            lobing. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Glabrous,            velvety. Surface: Smooth. Orientation: Mostly horizontal.            Color: Developing and fully expanded bracts, upper surface:            Center, 51B; towards the margins, 4C; central color becoming            closer to 51C with development. Developing and fully            developed bracts, lower surface: Center, 51C; towards the            margins, 4C. Venation, upper and lower surfaces: Same as            lamina. Flower bract petiole: Length: About 1.8 cm.            Diameter: About 2 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces:            Glabrous, smooth. Color, upper and lower surfaces: 144B.        -   Cyathia.—Quantity of cyathia per corymb: About twelve.            Diameter of cyathia cluster: About 2.5 cm. Length: About            8 mm. Diameter: About 6 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Color, immature            and mature: 144B. Peduncle: Length: About 3 mm. Diameter:            About 2.5 mm. Strength: Strong. Aspect: Curved. Color: 144B.            Stamens: Quantity of stamens and staminodes per cyathium:            About 40. Anther shape: Oval. Anther length: About 0.7 mm.            Anther color: 9B. Amount of pollen: Abundant. Pollen color:            14B. Pistils: Quantity of pistils per cyathium: One. Pistil            length: About 1.1 cm. Style length: About 4 mm. Style color:            144C. Stigma color: 144D. Ovary color: 144B. Nectaries:            Quantity of nectaries per cyathium: One. Length: About 5 mm.            Color: 14A to 14B.-   Disease/pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests common to    Poinsettias has not been observed on plants grown under commercial    conditions.-   Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Poinsettia have been    observed to tolerate temperatures from 12° C. to 40° C.

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant named ‘Duepremmar’,as illustrated and described.